How a Puerto Rican Dog Saved a Life: Tracey F. Johns

How a Puerto Rican Dog Saved a Life

by Tracey F. Johns

This isn’t the story of a dog’s efforts to save someone’s life in rough seas or in a dangerous search-andrescue mission. Many a canine has been noted or doing such a heroic deed, however.

This story is instead about how a rescue puppy from Puerto Rico saved a local woman who had seemingly lost her will to live to COVID-19 isolation-fueled chronic depression and anxiety. This is a love story, in fact, about how this writer’s new companion, Stella Isabela, is a rescue dog in many ways.

I came to know Stella Isabela by her first name “Bailey” and through a Facebook post by Iron Will Woodworks in St. Michaels. They had shared a post by the Puerto Rico Dog Fund looking to find homes for six motherless puppies found in a burning trash pile in Aguadilla, near Rincon. I filled out an online application and waited.

Life for me at the time had become a series of days and nights spent alone, working from home, and usually through text or email. Sometimes I would startle myself hearing my own voice. I found myself not wanting to get out of bed on the weekends because it really didn’t seem to matter ~ there was no accountability of my life other than to myself and occasional calls from my grown children.

Stella Isabela their service dog, Gauge, they have helped coordinate more than

The idea of getting a puppy or 14 adoptions to families on the having a dog was new to me and Mid-Shore. came after having my daughter’s The puppy was shivering and dog, Sophie, over for sleepovers. scared before I bundled her in my Sophie is an 11-year-old beagle fleece jacket and held her close to who lives to eat, sleep and be with my chest. I understood her anxiher person. I noticed when Sophie ety well and remained steady. She was with me that I felt a purpose to soon calmed down, and I became my days and a reciprocated sense her person. of companionship that my two cats have never given me. They are cats, after all.

I soon learned my adult children had been scheming to find a dog for me, too. Local shelters had plenty of cats and kittens to offer, but I was looking for a dog. Then the call came. If the puppy accepted me, she was mine.

Three-month-old “Bailey” arrived to St. Michaels from Rincon, Puerto Rico, on a rainy, cold Sunday night in October 2020 to the home of Jena Lindsay and Ward Ewing. Lindsay and Ewing winter in Rincon and volunteer with the Puerto Rico Dog Fund. Together with their rescue dog, Rico, and

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She still had scabs from burns on her backside and hind legs, and she weighed about five pounds, with ribs to count. All six puppies were adopted, with five continuing to grow up in the Mid-Shore region.

Bailey’s new name, “Stella Isabela,” was decided on the way back to Easton while she was snuggled inside my jacket and I was looking at a map of Rincon and its neighboring towns. My daughter was driving. Stella is a town to the south, while Isabela is to the east/north. She had her new name.

I soon found myself up at all hours of the night taking care of a puppy with an upset stomach and wondering what I was thinking when adopting a puppy at my age. But those nights were juxtaposed by days of playfulness, snuggles and love. Taking care of Stella Isabela gave purpose and meaning to my days.

As she grew into her current 23-pound spry self, I also learned she needed a lot more activity, so we began taking long walks every day. Four months later, we now have a routine, and I’m 20 pounds lighter. Sometimes those walks are hard to get at when depression and anxiety pull a dark veil over the day. But she’s counting on me. She persists. And I find the light as a result.

This is where that reciprocal rescue lies. I may have rescued the

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runt of a litter found in a burning trash pile. But on that day in October, it was me who was indeed rescued. Now each day has a certain amount of guaranteed joy and companionship, thanks to a Puerto Rican ‘sato’ or street dog named Stella Isabela. Love has found a way inside my heart and life again. If you’d like to get involved in the Puerto Rico Dog Fund, you can participate in an annual fundraiser this July at Foxy’s Harbor Grill in St. Michaels, or go to thepuertoricodogfund.org. To learn how you can volunteer or adopt, please contact Jena Lindsay at jenalindsay30@gmail.com.

Tracey Johns is a storyteller, engaging local, regional and national audiences through her words and photography. She has worked in communications, marketing and business management for more than 30 years, including non-profi t leadership. Tracey’s work is focused on public and constituent relations, along with communication strategies, positioning and brand development and project management.